Demon Chow
by BonitaBreezy
Summary: Roxas spends his days teaching tenth grade history, doting on his obese cat, and, oh yeah, secretly lusting after his best friend.  AkuRoku. oneshot


Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts. I'm not nearly that epic.

A/N: This idea came to me in a dream. Since I've been having a terrible writer's block, I thought I'd give it a shot. Maybe it'll help, huh? This one's for my cat, who I can only assume is the inspiration.

Demon-Chow

Roxas Leonhart let out a heartfelt groan as the sharp-as-needles nails dug into his back, followed shortly by an extra thirteen pounds of weight settling firmly in the dip of his back. The nails began a gentle pattern, kneading in to the skin between his shoulder blades, hurting a lot more then Roxas was sure the cat was aware of.

"You need to lose some weight, Fat Cat," he grumbled, rolling on to his side and toppling the cat from her perch. She sent him a regal glare, making it quite well-known that she was very upset with him and that he would pay later for his carelessness.

"Good morning, Cherub," he greeted, only to be met with unamused, accusing yellow-green eyes. Roxas couldn't help but smile, leaning over and smacking a kiss on top of her furry head before rolling out of bed and heading off to take a shower.

A cherub is a baby angel. His brother, Sora, had named the cat, insisting that her big green eyes and innocent little kitten face was simply angelic. However, as she grew older, they all came to see that an angel she was not. She was irritable, self-important, and had a nasty habit of scratching up the furniture-Roxas hadn't had the heart to get her declawed-and biting people. She was more suited to being called 'Demon'. Despite all this, Roxas loved his cat like she was his child. Actually, he hated children. He probably loved his cat _more_ then he would have loved his child.

When he left the bathroom, Cherub was waiting patiently for him just outside the door watching with an aloof disinterest that only a cat could truly master. As he got dressed, Cherub continuously ran herself between his ankles, undoubtedly trying to trip him up and get his attention at the same time. He bopped her lightly with his toes in the side to get her away before making his way to the kitchen. As soon as she realized where he was going, she shot off in front of him like a bullet. He smiled and rolled his eyes, knowing what he would see when he entered the kitchen. Surely enough, she was sitting next to her empty food bowl, looking at him imperiously.

"Mrow!" she cried loudly, making her desires perfectly clear. Used to this behavior, Roxas merely grabbed a can of food, more commonly referred to as Demon-chow, popped the lid off, and overturned it in to the bowl.

Immediately she was on it like white on rice, as if she hadn't been fed in a year, when really, he never forgot to feed her. She was just demanding, whiny, and actually rather fat. He probably shouldn't feed her as much as he did, but he just couldn't deny those begging cries. So he continued to feed her the same every day.

Cherub taken care of, Roxas poured himself some cheerios and sat on the kitchen counter, eating quickly. He'd woken up a bit later then usual, so he had that much less time to get ready. He gulped down the last of his breakfast and grabbed his keys and messenger bag from the counter.

He closed the door quickly behind him, just in time to stop Cherub from making a run for it. She loved to go outside, but he hated not knowing if she'd been hit by a car all day. So, inside she stayed.

He was late to school, which was kind of pathetic. He'd never had trouble with punctuality when he was in high school. Now that he was a teacher, he was late. Oops. He rushed past the front office, hoping that no one would notice his tardiness. As he passed the physics class, he glanced in. His blue eyes caught green and he received a grin that told him he'd been caught. He rolled his eyes and continued on his way.

The eyes belonged to one Axel Sinclair, Roxas' best friend since high school. They'd met when Roxas was a freshman and Axel was a junior. They'd both been on the swim team and they'd easily become inseparable. When Axel had gone to college, he'd stayed close to home, and when it had come time for Roxas to apply for college, he only applied to one place.

They'd both decided that they'd become teachers and they'd teach at the same school. Somehow, it had happened. They'd both ended up at Hollow Bastion High School, Axel teaching physics and Roxas world history. Roxas was happy with his life, and he loved that he and Axel had stayed so close through the years.

However, within the last year or so, things had gotten closer then Roxas was sure he was comfortable with. One night last June they'd gone out drinking. Axel had gotten smashed, depressed over some break-up with this guy he'd been talking about for weeks. Roxas had stayed sober, having only two beers, because he knew he'd be the one to end up taking care of Axel that night. So Axel had drank, and when he was so utterly gone that Roxas thought he would pass out at the bar, he'd paid the tab, helped the redhead out of the bar, and driven him back to Roxas' apartment. He'd been unlocking the door when Axel had shoved him against it and seized his lips in a dominating kiss.

Roxas, to say the least, had been completely shocked. Axel was bigger then him by about a foot, and stronger too, so Roxas couldn't push him away. The very odd part was that he wasn't sure he wanted to. Half of him was screaming at himself to do it, push Axel away and demand to know just what the hell he thought he was doing. The other half wanted to bunch his hands in his best friend's shirt and kiss him senseless. However, he seemed to have frozen completely. Axel didn't seem to be bothered by this at all, continuing to kiss him enthusiastically.

He'd never considered Axel as anything more then a friend. As he thought about it, though, he realized that Axel _was_ extremely attractive. He was tall and lithe, but finely muscled as well. His green eyes were bright and danced with a forbidden fire of mischievousness, his bright red hair such a wonderful color it didn't seem like it could possibly be real. Really, he was nothing short of perfection. Roxas didn't know why he'd never noticed before. It was obvious. Suddenly, his mind was made up.

He'd grabbed the front of Axel's t-shirt and kissed him back with wild abandon. Somehow, they'd gotten inside the apartment, stumbled their way back to the bedroom, and had rid each other of their shirts. Roxas had climbed off from his spot straddling Axel's waist so that he could grab a condom from the dresser. By the time he returned, Axel had passed out. He'd taken a moment to feel deep disappointment before his primary head caught up with the secondary one.

"Holy fucking shit. Oh my god." The realization hit him like a ton of bricks. He'd just made out with Axel. He'd just been ready to have sex with AXEL. Axel, who he'd known since he was fourteen years old. Axel who he'd shared so many things with over the years. Axel, who he'd never had a sexual thought about in his life. Axel had given him a raging boner. Oh god. He'd been turned on by his best friend.

He'd fled the room and hardly slept on the couch. In the morning, when Axel had woken up, he hadn't remembered a thing. It had been so extremely awkward, but Axel didn't seem to notice. So Roxas had pretended nothing had ever happened. Now, he had an internal battle with himself every time he saw his best friend. Did he want to admit to Axel that he was attracted to him? Did he want to risk their friendship if things didn't work out? No, not really. Not just for sex. Axel was one of the only people in the universe he knew he could depend on when everything went to shit. So he lived day by day, hoping his life didn't get fucked over by hormones.

He opened the door to his classroom, not at all surprised to find the students lounging all around the room, talking to each other and basically just being a bunch of fifteen year olds.

"Sorry for being late," he spoke up. "Take your seats, please."

They followed his instructions, which made him a bit satisfied. Nice to know that he had a bit of control over something in his life. Even if they _were_ fifteen years old.

"You know, Mr. Leonhart, when I'm late for class, I get some sort of punishment," one smart-ass spoke up with a huge grin on his face.

"You think being stuck in a classroom with you for forty minutes a day isn't punishment enough?" Roxas asked, making the kids laugh and the smart-ass's friend shout, "BURN!"

"Anyway," Roxas said loudly. "Can anyone remind me where we left off yesterday?"

"Uh…that guy got shot in the parade thingie."

Roxas had to bite back a groan. Why the hell had he decided to become a teacher again?

"Yes. That Guy. Archduke Francis Ferdinand…"

"Isn't that a band?"

"That's _Franz_ Ferdinand, you dumb ass."

"…was assassinated by a group of…"

He was interrupted by a knock on the door. A moment later it popped open and Roxas almost had to fight not to groan. The principal stuck her head in and smiled at him softly.

"Excuse me, Mr. Leonhart, could I have a word with you?"

"Um…yes, Miss Snow. Um, get in groups of three and discuss the four main reasons for World War One. Pop Quiz when I get back." They all let out loud groans, but turned to talk to each other. Roxas wondered if they would actually study knowing that they would have a quiz, or if they'd just babble about things completely unrelated. After a moment of reflection, he sighed. There was no way they would study. He followed her in to the hallway, wondering how much shit he was in for being late and how she'd found out so fast.

"Naminé, I can ex…"

"Roxas!" Naminé said, her eyes lighting up. "I'm sorry to pull you out of class, but I just couldn't wait to tell you!"

Suddenly realizing that he wasn't in trouble, Roxas found himself wondering what had Naminé so excited. Before he had a chance to ask the question, though, she gave an excited hop and clapped her hands. He caught sight of a shiny new ring on her finger and he let out a small gasp.

"Oh my god, Naminé!" he said, catching on to the excitement.

"Marly asked me to marry him!" she squealed. "I wanted to call you last night but by the time I came out of my happiness-coma it was midnight and I didn't think you'd appreciate me calling then."

"God, Nami, I'm so happy for you guys. I told you he'd ask you soon! You were so busy freaking out…"

"And yes, you were right! All hail the mighty Roxas! I'm so happy!"

The classroom door they were standing next to popped open, and Naminé looked horrified for a moment, before Axel popped his head out the door. Instantly, her look changed to happiness.

"Hey, guys, I thought I heard some squealing out here…"

Naminé raised her hand to show off her ring and Axel grinned hugely. He shut his classroom door behind him and lifted her in to his arms, giving her a spin. "Congratulations!" he said with a grin.

"Thanks, guys…but I really should get going. What would it look like for us to be consorting in the hallway, leaving the students to their own devices? I'll talk to you guys later."

"Bye Nami!" they waved her off. Roxas reached for his classroom door, but as his fingers brushed the knob, Axel touched his arm. Roxas turned back to look at him, ignoring the butterflies in his stomach at his friend's touch. It was ridiculous. Yes, he was attractive. But he was also Axel. AXEL. Best friend. _Friend_.

"I covered for you," Axel whispered conspiratorially. "You had to pick up your niece and drop her off at daycare because Sora got called in, okay?" Roxas nodded, smiling gratefully.

"Thanks, Ax, I owe you."

"That's right you do. You pay for dinner tonight and we'll call it even."

"Deal," Roxas agreed. "I've gotta get back in there, they've probably burned half the classroom down by now."

"Ooh, fun," Axel grinned.

"Shut up, Pyro," Roxas snorted. "Go teach about gravity and all that stuff."

"Will do. See you at lunch."

Roxas entered his classroom again, and the roar of chatter died down almost immediately. Roxas clapped his hands together and grinned at them.

"All right. I want three hundred words on the four main causes of world war one and the spark that set it all off. You have until the end of the period. Go."

They all stared at him in disbelief for a minute before he nodded towards the clock.

"You've got half an hour left. I'd get started if I were you." There was a sudden flurry of rustling papers and scratching pens. Roxas plopped down at his desk and pulled his laptop out of the case, booting it up as the kids took their impromptu quiz. If their dark looks were any indication, it was going to be a long day.

Roxas was so incredibly right about it being a long day when he finally got home that evening, he wanted to just collapse face-down on his couch and fall asleep. He was rather surprised, however, when he opened the door to come face-to-face with his twin brother Sora. It wasn't seeing Sora that was so surprising. Sora always popped up at random times. What was surprising was that Sora looked extremely worried. Sora was the happiest person on the planet. He only didn't smile when something was very, very wrong. Immediately, Roxas felt fear shoot through him.

"Sora, what's wrong? Is Kairi okay?"

"What?" Sora asked. "Oh, yeah, she's fine. She's with Riku, he took her to get some ice cream. You know, she's only three years old, but she has him wrapped around her little fingers."

"Who would have thought Riku would be a devoted daddy?" Roxas snorted.

"You underestimate him, Roxas. He loves her just as much as I do. He's a wonderful father."

"Yeah, yeah, I know. I've seen how he looks at her like she's queen of the world. I just like giving him a hard time. It's how our relationship works."

"Roxas…" Sora said slowly, and suddenly Roxas remembered his initial worry. "What's the matter, Sora?"

"Um…well…I'm really sorry, Rox, I didn't mean to!"

"Didn't mean to what?" Roxas asked suspiciously.

"Well, I came here so I could talk to you because I haven't seen you in a few weeks. I figured I'd just wait for you, because I knew you'd be home soon…"

"Sora, what did you do?"

"Well, I opened the door and then I heard some odd noises in the hallway so I turned back to look…"

Roxas got a sick feeling in the pit of his stomach. "Sora…tell me you didn't leave the door open."

"Um…well…I'm sorry, Roxas! Before I knew it, Cherub was out the door and down the hall and I ran to look for her, but by the time I turned the corner she was gone! I checked the whole building and I can't find her anywhere!"

"Sora!" Roxas cried. Really, it was more of a wail, but he'd never admit that out loud. "She's not an outdoor cat! This is a city! She'll be dead before dark! She's probably already dead! How could you do this?"

"I'm so sorry, Rox! I didn't mean to! I'll help you look for her!"

"How are we gonna find a cat in the middle of such a big city? She probably got hit by a truck as soon as she got outside! She's lazy and fat and thinks the entire world revolves around her! She's probably dead, Sora!"

He stopped his rant when he saw that Sora's eyes were watering. Sora wasn't a wimp, but he hated being yelled at, especially by someone he was really close to. Roxas was upset and angry, but he knew he shouldn't be yelling at Sora, even if it _was_ his fault.

"Sora…Sora stop. I'm sorry. I'm just…I'm angry but I shouldn't yell, right?"

Sora blinked a few times, his lips quivering. "I know you didn't mean it Roxas. I feel so stupid getting all worked up…"

They were interrupted by a knock on the door. A moment later it opened and Riku let himself in, one hand holding Kairi's. She was chatting happily at him and he was nodding and smiling at her. As soon as she saw Sora, she smiled brightly.

"Hi Papa!" she cried. She let go of Riku's hand and rushed to Sora, who had to smile as he picked her up and hugged her. His eyes were still glassy, though, and as soon as Riku looked at him, he noticed. His bright turquoise eyes narrowed in a way Roxas had come to refer to as "protective of Sora mode". It was not very often that look was brought around by Roxas' own fault, and suddenly he was kind of nervous about it. Riku could be merciless.

"Sora…what's wrong?"

"It's nothing Riku," Sora shook his head. He set Kairi back down on the ground and she immediately began looking around the apartment.

"Kitty, kitty! Here Kitty!"

"Sora, what happened?"

"I let Cherub out!" Sora wailed. "I didn't mean to, but she just escaped! I couldn't find her and now she's gone and Roxas was angry and sad and…!"

Riku stopped and looked at Roxas, probably realizing for the first time that both the twins were upset. Even Kairi looked horrified at the idea that Cherub was gone.

"Kitty's not here?" she asked. "Daddy! You said I could pet the kitty!"

"I didn't think she wouldn't be here, Sweetie." Kairi burst in to tears. While Riku and Sora did damage control, Roxas went to change his clothes so he could go look for his cat. He suddenly wished that he'd forced her to wear a collar instead of giving in after she'd managed to get it off several times.

By the time Roxas came back out again, Kairi had been mollified and was happily sucking her thumb in Riku's arms and Sora was explaining the situation to Axel, who had apparently appeared in the last few minutes.

"Hey, Ax. What are you doing here?"

"You owe me dinner, remember?"

"Oh…yeah…listen, Ax, now's not the best time…"

"Yeah, I know. I heard about Cherub. I'll help you look."

Roxas shot him a grateful look. "Thanks."

"We'll help, too!" Sora said, nodding earnestly.

"No, Sora, someone has to stay with Kairi, right?" Roxas interjected. Despite feeling bad about yelling at him, Roxas was still kind of annoyed at him. Riku nodded as well.

"Yeah, you two stay here, all right? Roxas, Axel, and I will go out and look around, okay?"

Sora looked like he wanted to protest, but then he looked at Kairi and seemed to fold. "You're right. Of course, you're right. But it's my fault she got out. Maybe you should stay and I'll go."

Riku seemed to notice Roxas' mood and shook his head. "No. Spend some time with Kairi. I'll go." That was one thing Roxas really liked about Riku. He was very intuitive about the people around him, and despite his arrogant, self-important demeanor, he really cared about those close to him. He was great at keeping the peace and keeping everything going smoothly.

"All right. Okay. I'll stay. I'm really sorry, Roxas."

"It's all right, Sora. We'll find her…one way or another."

It was four hours later, twenty degrees colder, and two hours past dark when Roxas let out a groan of frustration.

"It's hopeless Axel. We'll never find her. She's either long gone or dead."

"Don't lose hope, Roxy. I'm sure she's fine. She'll turn up." Axel wrapped an arm around Roxas' shoulder and tugged him in to a half hug. The pure comfort radiating from his friend made Roxas relax. He leaned his head against Axel's shoulder and sighed a little bit.

"Thanks for being such a good friend," he said quietly. "I really appreciate you helping me look."

"Of course, Rox. You know that if you ever need me I'll always be there and I'll do anything to help you."

Roxas took a moment to melt in to the feeling of Axel holding him. He couldn't help but love it and wish that it could happen all the time. He wanted to tell Axel. God, how he did. But he just couldn't. He didn't want to ruin everything. He couldn't do it.

Axel stopped walking, making Roxas stop as well. He tilted his head up to look his friend in the face, freezing when he saw the look on his face. He knew that look, and that night almost a year ago flashed through his memory, burning, hot, and passionate. He knew Axel was going to kiss him. He also knew he didn't have the willpower to pull away if Axel were to do it.

He really, really, really wanted Axel to lean down and close that space between them. At the same time, he really, really didn't want him to. He knew he and Axel could be fantastic together, they'd been friends for so long. But they also knew exactly how to get on each other's nerves and drive each other crazy. They knew what buttons to push. Besides, Roxas had never thought of Axel in a romantic way before they'd kissed. Didn't that mean he was only interested in the physical part, not a real relationship?

He was saved from making the decision between letting it happen and pulling away by Axel's ringing phone. Their locked gaze broke and Axel sighed quietly.

"Hello?" he sounded a bit cross as he answered. "Oh, hey, Riku. No luck, huh? Yeah, us either. Yeah…yeah, that sounds great. We'll meet you there. Yeah, right. Bye." He hung up the phone and turned to look at Roxas. "Riku didn't see anything. Sora called him and said that Kairi was hungry, so we're going out. We're meeting them at Lionhart's." Roxas snorted, but nodded as well. "All right, then. Let's go."

Lionhart's was a diner owned by his older brother Leon and his boyfriend. The food was fantastic, the company great, and they got discounts, which was even better. Despite all that, Roxas wasn't really in the mood for it. Between his confused feelings over Axel and the hurt at the loss of his cat, he just wanted to go home and sleep.

Still, he let Axel lead him across town to the diner. By the time he got there, Riku, Sora, and Kairi were sitting in a booth, looking like the sweet little family that they were. Roxas and Axel joined them, and the entire time they sat there, Roxas was extremely aware of Axel's close proximity.

Leon and Cloud came out and talked with them while they ate, and they stayed until close. It was almost midnight by the time Roxas got home, and he knew he would regret it in the morning when he had to get up for work. Maybe he'd have his classes watch a movie tomorrow so he could relax…it wasn't like he'd be able to pay much attention with his thoughts and emotions in such turmoil.

Axel didn't come to school the next day, and Roxas wondered if he'd gotten sick from being out in the cold looking for Cherub. He felt pretty bad and tried to call his friend during lunch, but Axel didn't answer. He tried again when he got home that evening, but when Axel didn't answer again, he had to assume that the redhead was sleeping.

It felt like his entire life was falling out from under him, just because Sora had forgotten to close the door. His pet that he loved very much was gone, his best friend was unreachable, and he was confused and sad and just very discontent with everything in his life. He couldn't even go in to the kitchen and see her food bowl without feeling slightly sick.

When he got to work that day, Axel was out again. It wasn't like Axel to miss two days in a row, and he wondered if there was something very wrong with his friend. He wanted to leave immediately and find out, but of course he couldn't do that. So instead, he struggled through his classes, trying to seem like he cared. By sixth period he was ready to bang his face repeatedly in to the desk top. Still, he knew he couldn't let his personal life interfere with his job, so he taught about world war one with forced gusto.

It was about halfway through sixth period when there was a knock on the door. Stopping in the middle of the lecture, he looked toward the door curiously.

"Would you get that?" he asked the student nearest to the door. She got up to let the knocker in, and Roxas was surprised to see Axel. He was even more surprised to see what Axel had in his arms.

Cherub was there, looking quite content to be carried around like the queen she felt she was. She stared at him reproachfully as a smile broke over his face, looking as accusatory as if he had thrown her out the door himself. He'd never been so happy to see her being so bratty!

"Oh my god, Axel! You found her! Where did you find her?" He crossed to his friend in three long strides, taking his cat and hugging her to his chest.

"She was wandering around in the park, trying to catch a squirrel. For such a fat cat, she sure can move."

"What were you doing in the park? I thought you were sick?"

"Roxy," Axel snorted, rolling his bright green eyes. "I've spent the last two days scouring the city for her. I knew you were really upset, so…"

Axel had spent two days combing the city in search of Roxas' cat. He had no obligation to do it and no benefit for it. He'd just done it because he'd known that Roxas was upset and he wanted to help. Axel had found his cat just because he didn't like to see Roxas sad. That was…so sweet.

Emotion welled up in his chest and he thought for a moment that he might cry. Instead, he set Cherub down in his desk chair, where she contented herself to lay down and fall asleep. Then he threw his arms around Axel's neck, pulled him down, and kissed him firmly on the lips with a cry of, "I love you!"

As they kissed tenderly, Roxas realized that it was true. The reason thoughts of Axel had driven him so crazy over the last few months was because he loved Axel, not just because he wanted him. He'd been worried about a relationship, but now he knew for sure. Axel would go far out of his way to ensure Roxas' happiness, and Roxas wanted to do the same.

"Do you really?" Axel asked as they pulled away from each other, leaning his forehead against Roxas'.

"Yeah. I have for a long time," Roxas answered breathlessly. They were just about to kiss again when someone cleared their throat.

"Um, I'm all about love and everything, but…Mr. Leonhart… you're gay?"

A cold weight settled in Roxas' chest as he remembered where he was. Holy shit, he'd just made out with Axel in front of his students. They looked at each other, their eyes wide before turning to look at the class.

"Uh…you think you could not mention this to anyone?" he asked. They all stared blankly back at him, and he knew asking high schoolers to keep gossip to themselves was like asking an egg to grow hair.

"What if I promise to bump all of your averages up five points?"

There was a general consensus as they nodded and agreed to his request. Roxas let out an inner sigh of relief before turning to Axel.

"Since you're not really here, can you take Cherub home for me?"

"No problem, Roxy. But you and I, we need to talk."

Roxas nodded in agreement, almost breathless. "Yeah. Yeah we do. Just wait at my place, okay? I'll be there in a few hours."

"Will do. One for the road?"

Roxas blushed and glanced at the students who were watching with smirking interest. Axel followed his gaze and snorted.

"They've already promised not to tell," the redhead pointed out with an opportunistic grin on his face. Roxas rolled his eyes, but smiled.

"All right. Quickly." Axel pressed a kiss to his lips, scooped up Cherub, and made his exit. Roxas stared after him for a moment before his chattering class caught his attention again. He looked at the clock and saw that there was ten minutes left in the period.

"Okay, we all know nothing else is gonna get done after that. Just…do what you want." He sat heavily on his desk chair and watched as the students turned to talk to each other, happy about the distractions.

Roxas smiled dumbly to himself, all of his earlier worries about a relationship with Axel completely gone. Who would have thought it would take his missing cat to bring them together? Cherub was definitely getting an extra can of demon-chow that night.


End file.
